Chino, Calif. - September 8, 2009 - The Rockstar / Makita / Suzuki / Yoshimura team ended the season on a strong note at the new Thunderbolt Raceway track, part of the New Jersey Motorsports Park in Millville. In the final two races of his career, Mat Mladin, donning a well-earned number 1 plate after clinching his unparalleled seventh AMA Superbike championship one race earlier, pushed hard at the front of the pack, ending the weekend with a second place finish. Tommy Hayden (#22), who finished the season in third place, showed great speed throughout the weekend, and Blake Young (#79) had two top ten finishes.

For the final qualifying session of Mladin's career, the seven-time champ turned in an array of fast laps, landing in the pole position as he had done so many times before. Hayden and Young, meanwhile, started from farther back. When race one got underway, it was Mladin in the lead, with Hayden pushing toward the front. At the halfway point, however, Mladin suffered a rare crash, putting an end to his race. While he wasn’t injured, his race was over. Tommy Hayden, battling for third, soon found himself battling for second. By the time the checkered flags flew, Hayden had secured second place for a third overall in the series. Teammate Blake Young finished in seventh in the race and sixth overall in the series.

Race two looked similar to race one. Mladin was battling for the lead throughout most of the race, with Hayden also pressuring the front. After taking the lead with less than five laps to go, Hayden had an unfortunate low side and crashed out of the race unhurt. At the race’s end, it was Mladin on the podium with Blake Young in ninth place.

With Mladin retiring from racing, the Rockstar/Makita/Suzuki/Yoshimura team now looks forward to strengthening over the off-season and challenging for another AMA Superbike title.